UN child rights experts issue findings on Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Panama, Seychelles, Spain, Solomon Islands, Palau, and Marshall Islands

GENEVA (8 February 2018) – The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has published its findings on the following countries which it examined during its latest session from 15 January to 2 February in Geneva: Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Panama, Seychelles, Spain, Solomon Islands, Palau and Marshall Islands.

The findings cover how the respective State is doing with regard to children’s rights, detailing positive developments, main areas of concern, and recommendations for action.  The findings, officially known as concluding observations, can be found here.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is composed of 18 international independent experts, who monitor implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified to date by 196 States. They also monitor implementation of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC) and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC),  ratified by 173 States and 165 States respectively. 

The Committee will next meet from 14 May to 01 June 2018 to review Angola, Argentina, Lesotho, Montenegro, and Norway. It will additionally review Angola and Russian Federation with regards to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC), and Algeria and Angola with regards to the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC).

More information can be found here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1163&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact: Julia Gronnevet (+41 22 917 9310) jgronnevet@ohchr.org

Background

Members of the CRC are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty.

To learn more about the Committee on the Rights of the Child: http://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crc

Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified to date by 196 States):
http://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child

This year, 2018, is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70thanniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to Stand Up for Human Rights: www.standup4humanrights.org.

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